Home > Music > International > Africa

This is a group of musicians who lived for years as refugees in the West African nation of Guinea. While living in a tent camp, they acquired a couple beat up guitars and a rusted out sound system and began playing. American documentary filmmakers made the band the focus of their movie, which re...

Released in England last fall to rapturous reviews, Made In Dakar has landed on many British critics year-end, best-of lists. The Guardiancalled Orchestra Baobab masters of an urban style that pairs rippling, fast-flowing guitar lines with impassioned vocals and sophisticateddance rhythms. These mov...

Sub-titled 'Mahmoud Ahmed, Ere Mela Mela (1975)'. UK compilation drawn from the catalogs of Amha Records and Kaifa Records. The Artists may be unfamiliar but the musical heritage contained within is hugely rewarding. Vibrant and sassy urban pop, Arabic elements mixing sinuously with low down funk '...

Boulevard de l'Independance is an ambitious , big-band follow-up to In The Heart of the Moon; a bold synthesis of acoustic and electric, elegant and earthy, shimmering melodies and irresistable grooves, recorded in two weeks' worth of all-night sessions in the Malian capital of Bamako. It's a vivid ...

Though most world music exists largely under the radar, every once in a while a song comes along that achieves international success. World Hits brings together chart toppers from around the globe. Santana's 1969 version of Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" turned the rock world upside down, as their vers...

Toure recorded Savane in the Malian capital of Bamako, as part of a three-disc project dubbed the Hotel Mande Sessions, after the studio in which the albums were cut. Savane is the last, perhaps most eloquent, installment. In concept and execution, the sessions recall teh magical combination of spon...

From the first heavily produced notes of "Fault Lines" from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's collaboration with Michael Brook, Bliss dances lightly into a relaxing exercise in musical solitude. Several interesting and notable artists are included in this quilt of choice songs plucked from already-released al...

After a six year absence from the recording studio, Malian guitarist Habib Koité and his band Bamada return with a stunning new album. Afriki finds the group in fine form, and features an appealing set of songs that reflect Habib's unique approach to the diverse styles of Malian music. "His reputa...

World music side project for the Blur/Gorillaz frontman, released on his own label Honest John. Featuring Albarn sitting in with some of his most favorite Malian musicians, including guitarist Afel Bocoum & kora player Toumani Diabate. Resulting in one of the coolest & laid-back world/crossover ...

The Mandé Variations is Malian legend Toumani Diabaté’s first solo recording in 20 years and it is a stunningly beautiful, immediately accessible blend of traditional melodies, original compositions and breathtaking improvisations from the world-renowned virtuoso of the kora, the 21-stringed Wes...